TBR's Manning to Address TTU's December Graduating Class

Charles W. Manning, chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, will speak to graduates and guests at Tennessee Tech University’s fall commencement on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 10 a.m in Eblen Center.

Manning became chancellor of the TBR, the sixth largest system of higher education in the nation, in 2000. Prior to moving to Tennessee, Manning worked as Chief Executive Officer of the flagship system of higher education in West Virginia, the University System of West Virginia. As its first chancellor, Manning increased the resource base, selected presidents of each university for the system and guided the board. During his term, West Virginia rose to 13th among the states in public investment in higher education relative to the per capita income of its citizens.

Manning received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Western Maryland College and his doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Maryland.

After serving in the U.S. Army in the Chemical Corps, Manning worked as a staff associate at the National Center for Higher Education Management in Boulder, Colo., from 1971 to 1974. He accepted the position of Assistant Provost at the University of Missouri at Kansas City from 1974-1979 before leaving on a one-year grant to assist as a consultant with the vice president for planning and finance at the Federal University in Ceara, Brazil.

He returned to the states and became Associate Executive Director for Academic Affairs at the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. In 1981, he served as the vice president for academic affairs at the University of Northern Colorado where he was instrumental in regaining the accreditation for programs at risk and overcoming turmoil in the areas of finance and enrollment.

He was reinstated in the Colorado Commission of Higher Education as Deputy Executive Director from 1982 to 1988 and developed the Colorado Statewide Master Plan. He left Colorado and served as Executive Vice Chancellor for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education until 1990.

He is married to Sherry Manning, and they have three children.

The 549 students graduating from Tennessee Tech University this fall hail from 16 states including Tennessee, 65 Tennessee counties and 8 foreign countries. They represent 36 undergraduate fields of study and 16 graduate fields. Following commencement, Tennessee Tech will have granted some 49,000 degrees.

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